Social networking has its perks

Since most jobs are found through people you know, I have been advising my readers for years that “if they want to find a job they should get out from behind their computer.” I stand by that advice. The advent of social networking, however, has led me to add “but use social networking skills to widen the number of people that you can connect with when you get out from behind your computer.”

Online social networking can increase the number of people you know and enable you to reconnect with people with whom you have lost touch. Although social networking is no substitute for meeting and talking in person and on the telephone, it has become an important tool in the job-search process. Here are some tips for making the most out of the social media tools that are available:

Keith Mullin, president of outplacement firm Mullin & Associates, with New Jersey headquarters in Parsippany, advises individuals to create a “powerful, broad-based internet platform” that creates a presence on websites where people who might be in a position to hire you are likely to look. He suggests you have profiles on websites like LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com, as well as on more specialized networks populated by people in your field. Those profiles should be consistent and focused on those things you do well which would be valuable to potential employers.

Although Facebook discourages the practice, Mullin suggests one way to avoid mixing your personal and professional presence would be to have two separate profiles. Similarly focused profiles can be placed on alumni networks, if the schools you attended offer them, and on networks provided to members of professional associations, such as the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners.

Another website you might want to consider when you are trying to build an online presence is Coworkers.com, which allows people to ask for feedback from past and present co-workers. According to the website’s president, Jonathan Clay, the website enables job candidates “to build up a detailed ‘track record,’ which provides more insight than a résumé or LinkedIn recommendations.”

Twitter is another internet tool job seekers can use. For those of you not familiar with Twitter, it is a micro-blogging tool that enables users to send and read messages known as “tweets.” These are posts consisting of up to 140 characters published on the writer’s Twitter profile page and delivered to people, who sign up to receive those tweets, known as “followers.”

Choose your identity wisely. Select a professional screen name, whether it’s your first and last name, or a name that captures your brand (i.e. CIO or EagleEyeEditor).

Shoot for a 75 percent to 25 percent professional-to-personal tweet ratio. Interviewers will review your stream. People get hired for who they are, not just what they do. Your digital footprint is your résumé.

A few words of caution are in order. When using social networking, it is important to safeguard your personal information. Jeremy Miller, director of operations at Kroll Fraud Solutions, warns that while information posted on social networking sites “says a lot about you and your professional background, which is important to potential employers, some items should never be disclosed, including Social Security number, driver’s license number, date of birth or home address.”

Creating a professional presence on the internet is important. Even more important to finding a job, though, is actively using your social networks to find and connect to people that can help you in your job search. Don’t simply wait to be found. Reach out to people you meet online. Offer to help them. After you have developed an online relationship or have reconnected with people from your past, call and/or try to arrange to get together.

The internet offers an ever increasing number of tools job seekers can use to help facilitate their job search. But many individuals spend too much time creating a presence on the internet or replying to postings online. When it comes to finding a job, there is still no substitute for getting out and meeting people.

A veteran human resources executive, Lee E. Miller is a career coach and author of “UP: Influence Power and the U Perspective — The Art of Getting What You Want.” E- mail questions to Lee@YourCareerDoctors.com.